Charter school operators and authorizers would face more scrutiny and pressure, under new bill from Ohio Senate

Lehner charter reform press conference.jpeg

State Sen. Peggy Lehner presents her new charter school reform bill at a press conference this morning.

(Patrick O'Donnell/The Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The for-profit companies that run many of Ohio's charter schools would face increased scrutiny under the latest charter school reform proposal from State Sen. Peggy Lehner, as would the organizations that help create the schools and oversee them.

Lehner and an advisory panel unveiled their proposed charter school bill this morning, making it the third major proposal this year to improve Ohio's charter school system that regularly performs worse than traditional district schools statewide.

It's a major issue, with nearly $1 billion in state tax dollars going to the privately-run - but public - schools, and Ohio being laughed at as the "Wild, Wild West" by the nationwide charter school movement.

Charter schools can be examples of exceptional education, Lehner said, as are many of the charters in Ohio and many charter schools in other parts of the country.

But Ohio has been "extremely loose" in its rules about who can run schools, she said, and  "failed to put up the sort of guardrails" that force the schools to be of high quality.

"The question isn't what's wrong with charter schools, per se, but why have Ohio charter schools not achieved similar success (to some other states)?" Lehner said.

Already this year, Gov. John Kasich proposed his own charter school reform plan and the Ohio House recently passed its own plan in House Bill 2. Lehner's new bill takes many pieces of those and adds additional controls - and benefits - to charters.

'There's a lot of crossover," she said.

She also said the bill doesn't have a big "flashy" change that will jump out at the general public, but has many smaller changes that set up accountability and transparency that should have been in place all along.

"When you put all the little pieces together that close loopholes and set up accountability, we envision that you're going to see fewer poor schools operate," Lehner told The Plain Dealer.

The bill does not have the state directly close poor-performing charters quickly, as some charter school critics want. It instead takes the more indirect path that the charter school community prefers nationally. The bill pressures the "sponsors" - authorizing agencies that help create the schools and oversee them - to raise standards.

That's what Kasich proposed and which the House followed in HB 2.

All three plans would block sponsors with a rating of "poor" - a new rating that would be the lowest in Ohio's just-started sponsor evaluation plan - from sponsoring new schools and would take existing schools away from them.

Click here for more on What's all this talk about sponsors?

"There will be some (schools) that will close," Lehner said. "But more importantly, I think we will see schools improving."

Some believe that leaving pro-charter sponsors in charge won't solve anything.

"It's the fox guarding the chicken coop," said state school board member Robert Hagan, a former state representative.

But the bill removes some of the financial incentive for sponsors. State law currently lets sponsors charge schools three percent of their revenue as a sponsoring fee, which agencies could then spend on whatever they wanted.

The bill would require those dollars to be spent only on overseeing the schools.

"You can't run out and sponsor schools as a way to raise money for your non-profit," Lehner told The Plain Dealer. "The incentive to sponsor schools to make money is gone (if her bill passes). You better want to run schools to educate kids."

The bill also makes several changes that will eliminate some conflicts of interest between charter school governing boards and operators, makes more details of charter school operations open to the public and will increase how much financial information private companies must share about the work they do.

The financial reporting change was requested for HB 2 by Ohio Auditor Dave Yost, but House leadership did not include it in that bill.

The bill would also require the Ohio Department of Education to start grading the private companies that run charters.

Bonuses for charter schools in the bill include allowing high-performing charter schools to receive a state match - dollar for dollar - of any private donations they receive to build or renovate facilities.

Kasich had proposed something similar, but had opened that opportunity to highly-rated sponsors. Lehner's bill would only let highly-rated schools, or new schools using a highly-rated school model, use that money.

The bill also creates incentives for school districts to let charter schools use empty space in schools, even as the district runs classes in the rest of the building. Lehner says districts should share that space so that charters can use buildings that state taxes have already paid for.

That plan of "co-locating" schools is common in places like New York City. It has also been tried once in Cleveland, with a second shared school starting in the fall.

Click here to see the

Click here for

prepared by Lehner and her staff.

Lehner was joined in her announcement by several other legislators, educators and education experts who worked with her to create the bill.

State Sen. Tom Sawyer, an Akron Democrat, praised the bill and the cooperation behind it to make charter schools better for all kids.

"We're hoping to shine a light on those that are the best, and those that are the worst."

State Rep. Kristina Roegner, a Republican from Hudson and the sponsor of HB 2, said she backs Lehner's bill and that she will propose a companion bill matching it over in the house. State Rep. John Patterson, a Jefferson Democrat, will co-sponsor that bill in the House.

Roegner said HB 2 had "many solid reforms," but she was a backer of the increased reporting on charter school spending that Yost had sought. She said she is pleased that Lehner has included several items that did not make it into HB2.

"It's (HB 2) a step in the right direction," Roegner said. "This bill is going to be a giant leap in the right direction, and it's very, very necessary."

State Sen. Joe Schiavoni, a Boardman Democrat who has tried unsuccessfully to pass charter school changes last year, also praised the bill.

"While the legislation will not solve all problems with Ohio charter schools, it's a step in the right direction," Schiavoni said.

The Ohio Federation of Teachers also praised the bill as "the first serious attempt" to hold the schools and operators accountable.

OFT President Melissa Cropper said in a prepared statement: "OFT supports language requiring surety bonds that will protect the public investment in the unfortunate but real event a charter closes and leaves taxpayers stuck with its debt; language requiring management companies that receive more than 20 percent of a charter's gross revenue to provide detailed accounting of how those dollars are spent; and more accountability measures for Internet charters."

The Fordham Institute played a significant role in helping create the bill. Two Fordham representatives worked with Lehner's advisory committee and she praised Fordham for funding two studies that helped guide the work. 

Fordham partnered with Stanford's Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) on a study showing that charter school students in Ohio fall behind students in traditional schools by an average of 36 days of learning in math and 14 days in reading each year.

Fordham and Bellwether Education Partners, a non-profit research and advocacy group based in Boston, also released a report urging a two-pronged strategy to improve that gap: more oversight and more resources.

See that full report, called "The Road to Redemption", HERE.

Chad Aldis, the head of Fordham's Ohio programs, said the bill "would greatly improve the oversight and accountability for charter schools."

He listed several changes in the bill he hopes will pass. Aldis said the bill:

  • Strengthens House language around sponsor hopping
  • Increases transparency around expenditures by operators
  • Requires all sponsors to have a contract with the Ohio Department of Education
  • Incorporates much of Governor Kasich's proposal related to charter school sponsor oversight
  • Places limits on direct authorizing by the Ohio Department of Education and allows the department to decline applicants
  • Prohibits sponsors from spending charter funds outside of their statutory responsibilities
  • Assists high performing charter schools with facilities by encouraging co-location and providing some facility funding

Though the bill would normally be reviewed by the Senate Education Committee, it will not head there because Lehner chairs the committee. The education subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee will have hearings on the bill instead.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.